Ivory Coast Coach Fae on AFCON 2023 Triumph: 'I Told the Players God Gave Us a Second Chance, We Had to Seize It'

Emerse Fae took over as interim coach of the Ivory Coast national team during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, following Jean-Louis Gasset's resignation after a heavy 0-4 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in the group stage. In an interview with French newspaper L'Equipe, Fae admitted he did not hesitate to accept the coaching offer, even at a difficult time when Ivorian fans were angry with the players due to their "difficult" qualification to the round of 16.

The coach revealed details of his selection to lead the "Elephants": "The president called me and asked to meet. He explained that Jean-Louis had requested to leave. I was completely stunned. Then he asked me, 'Emerse, are you ready to take charge of the team and finish the tournament?' I answered yes without hesitation. He insisted, saying, 'Are you sure? Be careful, you failed with the U23 team.' I replied, 'Mr. President, let's go.'"

Fae focused on the team's psychological state and made changes to nearly half of the starting lineup. He stated: "When I took over the team, my first focus was on the psychological aspect. The players were at their worst. I told them that God grants us a second chance, and we must seize it out of respect for this jersey and our people. Then I told them that only the best would play, that everything would start from scratch, and there was no longer any status."

He added: "I decided to change half of the starting lineup. The first two players I wanted to bring back into the squad were Gradel and Seri, because I needed their experience and composure on the field. They had been perfectly committed, even when they were substitutes. To maintain my credibility, and after a disagreement between us during a training session, I decided to exclude Kessie from the starting lineup. He was not happy."

Regarding the round of 16 match against Senegal, Fae revealed a humorous incident, stating: "My assistant came to me and said, 'Emerse, you forgot to give us the starting lineup (laughs).' But I decided to use this mistake to my advantage. I went to see the veteran players and made them believe that I had deliberately not given them the lineup, so that everyone would remain focused until the match."

He continued: "When I stepped onto the field on match day, I felt great confidence in my teammates. All I wanted in the match was to avoid a crushing defeat, and I would have been content with an honorable loss. After three minutes, Senegal scored. I remember saying then, 'Why did I agree to this mission in the first place?' We were lucky that Senegal scored an early goal, which led them to stop playing quickly, whereas if they had pressed immediately after their goal, the result would have been catastrophic."